Reflections on Michael Soulé, a visionary for conservation biology
Crooks, KR, Mills, LS, Sanjayan, M, Ehrlich, PR, Ogden, JC, Allendorf, FW, Ralls, K, Noss, RF, Mace, G, Estes, JA, Doak, DF, Terborgh, J, Inouye, DW
Abstract
While reflecting on Michael Soule's life, I went back and re-read a few articles from the 1980s when I first encountered him.It was a very different world.Conservation Biology did not exist as a scientific discipline, and there was no journal or scientific society.In fact, some commentaries on Soule's early work note with surprise that academic ecologists were becoming involved in conservation, then the domain of wildlife and natural resource managers.Compare this to the situation today and you will have some understanding of his impact.He founded our discipline and led and guided it through its formative years.I am proud to be one of the first members of the SCB, to have served on the Board and as President, and to have seen the Society grow, thrive and ultimately mature into the establishment organisation that I don't think Michael ever quite